What are some ways to get kids into eating their vegetables?!
Answers:
When my son was little back when I thought liver was healthy, he would say in public places!.!."mom if I am really, really good, can I have some liver or can I have some spinach!.!.people would stare in shock lol
whew spent over an hour on this answer so hope you read it
I am a former teacher and parent
one of the best ways is by growing them themselves and then cooking/preparing them too!.
They had pilot programs in school where they had the kids grow their organic gardens and also did lessons on garden and produce related topics in various subjects (reading about veggies/fruits), writing about them, measuring them and math things, science with them, history/geography (where they come from) etc!.
then they had the kids pick them and prepare them for lunch everyday!.!.the kids started loving and eating things like kale, turnips and other things they might not traditionally like!.
do some songs with them about produce as found here
http://www!.preschoolexpress!.com/music_st!.!.!.
get books on them like apple tree apple tree or the seasons of Arnold's apple tree here are a few to get you started!.!.use both fiction and nonfiction
http://www!.sdcoe!.k12!.ca!.us/score/apple/a!.!.!.
I feel one should always be teaching about nutrition, take kids shopping and give them games like how many red fruits can you find, or round veggies, etc and teach them how to get nutritious foods!., while one can hide veggies, some should become loved and chosen and doing things like gardening, harvesting, cooking, canning, preparing, reading about, talking about, singing about, drawing all the veggies in a salad they ate and saying let's draw each thing the way it grows (ie--apples on the tree, potatoes in the ground, grapes on the vine), going to fairs and talking about the different veggies and fruits you see etc is very important to establishing good habits that can withstand peer pressure and school!.!. parents eating healthy themselves and explaining on the child's level why we need healthy foods etc and the dangers of bad foods is important!.!.praise them when they eat their produce, whole grains etc!.
Read books like berenstain bears and junk food for example and then talk about it!.!. Praise and notice good habits when they do them!.!.!.even connecting the field trips or tripos to the library to get food related books to doing sometime right!.!.like I am so happy you ate all your carrots!.!.let's go to the store and look if there are other colors of carrots etc make the field trip a reward for eating good or say things like since you were so good and ate all your (blank) mommy is going to play with your dolls with you or play ball with you!.!.you do not have to do it every-time do it more at first and then taper once while doing it sometimes!.
Go on food related family field trips like the town coop, health food store, grocery complete with games, farm, farmer's market, the healthy bakery (if you have one), restaurants, college agriculture dept (some have farms with cows and gardens and stuff), Amish areas, corn mazes, conservatories, garden store, and so forth
Have them grow things like chia pets and eat the sprouts, teach them sprouting, grow a bean stock on the window, cook pumpkin seeds, make list of different colored foods and try to get them to eat at least one from each of the color groups for optimal health!.!.these groups are red/green/orange/yellow/white-brown and blue-purple etc!.
Make apple crisp and things like that using kid cookbooks !.!.let them prepare the whole meal one day a week and let them choose the menu from a healthy selection!. Bake healthy cookies with dried fruits and zucchini and carrot and apple breads!. Let them set the table with different settings or eat under the table or outside etc sometimes
Have a country day like Italian and Chinese and Spanish and Mexican and African and German etc and be sure to include some produce in this and do decorations and music to match!.!.lead up to it with books on that country (fiction and nonfiction alike)!.!.even invite grandma or a friend or uncle or something that day
I did a two month unit I did on many foods/food groups that involved games shows, art, passing around many bags of whole grains or nuts etc, puppet shows, stories, songs, cooking, demonstrations and a whole host of activities that incorporated every subject area, taught constantly and was very fun I was told often!.!.kids started getting their parents to eat better by asking for things and nagging I guess!. they even totally loved eating dulse (seaweed) much to the other teacher's surprise!. do the same kind of stuff at home!.!.making stone stone after reading the book is a good one or reading the book on magic porridge (there are many variations of growing grains hat flood the streets!.!. and then cooking them and add some nuts and fruits to it) cloudy with a chance of meatballs is a fun food book
http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Cloudy_with!.!.!.
Get some kid's cookbooks with a focus on produce
Do things kids think are fun to eat like ants on a log or making a celery car with carrot wheels, with peanut butter and raisin people or make bunny faces or raggedy Ann made with fruit etc make eating fun!. When my son was a preschooler, I transformed the daily snack program where mother's brought snacks in by approaching the teacher, writing a good letter with many suggestions on things to send other than cookies for the parents that she sent home with the kids!.!.the whole year we only had 2 days where cookies were sent instead of every day when cookies were spent before!.!.the kids became a positive peer pressure as kids saw other kids eating and liking the healthier foods and moms had fun coming up with nutritious foods kids would eat!.!.I sent the celery carrot cars and sail boat deviled eggs one time, bunny cupcakes with homemade oat bread and cream cheese frosting, kabobs they dipped in wheat germ and coconut and made themselves, a cup that they alternated applesauce and crumbled health food store graham cracker in etc!.
Kids will like things eaten frozen like frozen grapes, cherries, apple slices, corn, cherry tomatoes and just slightly thawed
make smoothies or even try juicing veggies and adding to tomato or v8 juice if they like it,,maybe even frozen veggie juice in tomato juice homemade Popsicles
get a french fry cutter and make potatoes, sweet potatoes, and turnips etc frys and usually kids eat anything with ketchup so serve ketchup with your homemade fries
add fruit to salad (be sure to use dark lettuce like romaine or leafy green or red or spinach and not iceberg head lettuce which has little nutritional value!.!.good fruits to add or raisins, dried cranberries, apples with walnuts, pineapple, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries!. Put some grated veggies in it!.
Dip ‘em!. Kids love dipping things!. They dip their hands (and sometimes feet) into finger paints!. They dunk cookies into milk!. So, next time they want to munch, arrange a snack of baby carrots, celery, or red peppers onto a plate and add a cup of ranch or blue cheese dressing on the side!. Serve broccoli and let them dunk it into cheese sauce!. Even kids who don’t care much for veggies will devour them if they can dip it first!.
my kids liked this bean dip I made (recipe in the sources) with veggies or all kinds for dipping or try a homemade dip of some sort
Hide ‘em!. Sometimes you have to be sneaky to get what you want!. The old saying “Ignorance is Bliss” absolutely applies here! Finely chop a few zucchinis and add them to pasta sauce!. Puree some carrots and add it to macaroni and cheese!. Cook up spaghetti squash and add it to angel hair pasta!.One can adding finely grated veggies to canned soups or spaghettios, pureed zucchini, carrots, etc to casseroles and so forth sneak veggies in sauces like spaghetti sauce, casseroles, lasagna, etc
Shape ‘em!. Cooking can be a creative outlet!. Get your kids involved with preparation, and they may just eat what they’ve helped to prepare!. Use cookie cutter shapes to create “eggplant stars!.” Show them how to make “radish roses” by making thin slices from the top down about ? inch, following the contour of the radish!. Keep going until you have almost the entire radish sliced!. (If you have little ones, YOU can do the shaping, but they’ll love to watch!.) Put in ice water and refrigerate for a few hours to “bloom!.” (This is best done mid-morning, if you’re planning on eating them at dinnertime!.) Encourage them to bring out their inner artist, and they can eat their “projects” when they’re done!
One of the best resources I ever had was this book
How to Convert the Kids from What They Eat to What They Oughta
it is so good I went on a search trying to find it for you!. It contains so many suggestions for healthy eating for kids, a monthly program to improve diet in many different categories using a behavior modification program complete with charts, stars and rewards!. I had some child psychology classes and these type program really work to chance behavior in a happy way, One link has the book as low as one cent plus shipping!.!.I used this a lot when my kids were small in the 80s!.!.they still are eating healthy today!.
http://www!.pricegrabber!.com/search_getpr!.!.!.
http://www!.valorebooks!.com/Search/ISBN/0!.!.!.
http://www!.usedisbetter!.com/catalog_item!.!.!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
whew spent over an hour on this answer so hope you read it
I am a former teacher and parent
one of the best ways is by growing them themselves and then cooking/preparing them too!.
They had pilot programs in school where they had the kids grow their organic gardens and also did lessons on garden and produce related topics in various subjects (reading about veggies/fruits), writing about them, measuring them and math things, science with them, history/geography (where they come from) etc!.
then they had the kids pick them and prepare them for lunch everyday!.!.the kids started loving and eating things like kale, turnips and other things they might not traditionally like!.
do some songs with them about produce as found here
http://www!.preschoolexpress!.com/music_st!.!.!.
get books on them like apple tree apple tree or the seasons of Arnold's apple tree here are a few to get you started!.!.use both fiction and nonfiction
http://www!.sdcoe!.k12!.ca!.us/score/apple/a!.!.!.
I feel one should always be teaching about nutrition, take kids shopping and give them games like how many red fruits can you find, or round veggies, etc and teach them how to get nutritious foods!., while one can hide veggies, some should become loved and chosen and doing things like gardening, harvesting, cooking, canning, preparing, reading about, talking about, singing about, drawing all the veggies in a salad they ate and saying let's draw each thing the way it grows (ie--apples on the tree, potatoes in the ground, grapes on the vine), going to fairs and talking about the different veggies and fruits you see etc is very important to establishing good habits that can withstand peer pressure and school!.!. parents eating healthy themselves and explaining on the child's level why we need healthy foods etc and the dangers of bad foods is important!.!.praise them when they eat their produce, whole grains etc!.
Read books like berenstain bears and junk food for example and then talk about it!.!. Praise and notice good habits when they do them!.!.!.even connecting the field trips or tripos to the library to get food related books to doing sometime right!.!.like I am so happy you ate all your carrots!.!.let's go to the store and look if there are other colors of carrots etc make the field trip a reward for eating good or say things like since you were so good and ate all your (blank) mommy is going to play with your dolls with you or play ball with you!.!.you do not have to do it every-time do it more at first and then taper once while doing it sometimes!.
Go on food related family field trips like the town coop, health food store, grocery complete with games, farm, farmer's market, the healthy bakery (if you have one), restaurants, college agriculture dept (some have farms with cows and gardens and stuff), Amish areas, corn mazes, conservatories, garden store, and so forth
Have them grow things like chia pets and eat the sprouts, teach them sprouting, grow a bean stock on the window, cook pumpkin seeds, make list of different colored foods and try to get them to eat at least one from each of the color groups for optimal health!.!.these groups are red/green/orange/yellow/white-brown and blue-purple etc!.
Make apple crisp and things like that using kid cookbooks !.!.let them prepare the whole meal one day a week and let them choose the menu from a healthy selection!. Bake healthy cookies with dried fruits and zucchini and carrot and apple breads!. Let them set the table with different settings or eat under the table or outside etc sometimes
Have a country day like Italian and Chinese and Spanish and Mexican and African and German etc and be sure to include some produce in this and do decorations and music to match!.!.lead up to it with books on that country (fiction and nonfiction alike)!.!.even invite grandma or a friend or uncle or something that day
I did a two month unit I did on many foods/food groups that involved games shows, art, passing around many bags of whole grains or nuts etc, puppet shows, stories, songs, cooking, demonstrations and a whole host of activities that incorporated every subject area, taught constantly and was very fun I was told often!.!.kids started getting their parents to eat better by asking for things and nagging I guess!. they even totally loved eating dulse (seaweed) much to the other teacher's surprise!. do the same kind of stuff at home!.!.making stone stone after reading the book is a good one or reading the book on magic porridge (there are many variations of growing grains hat flood the streets!.!. and then cooking them and add some nuts and fruits to it) cloudy with a chance of meatballs is a fun food book
http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Cloudy_with!.!.!.
Get some kid's cookbooks with a focus on produce
Do things kids think are fun to eat like ants on a log or making a celery car with carrot wheels, with peanut butter and raisin people or make bunny faces or raggedy Ann made with fruit etc make eating fun!. When my son was a preschooler, I transformed the daily snack program where mother's brought snacks in by approaching the teacher, writing a good letter with many suggestions on things to send other than cookies for the parents that she sent home with the kids!.!.the whole year we only had 2 days where cookies were sent instead of every day when cookies were spent before!.!.the kids became a positive peer pressure as kids saw other kids eating and liking the healthier foods and moms had fun coming up with nutritious foods kids would eat!.!.I sent the celery carrot cars and sail boat deviled eggs one time, bunny cupcakes with homemade oat bread and cream cheese frosting, kabobs they dipped in wheat germ and coconut and made themselves, a cup that they alternated applesauce and crumbled health food store graham cracker in etc!.
Kids will like things eaten frozen like frozen grapes, cherries, apple slices, corn, cherry tomatoes and just slightly thawed
make smoothies or even try juicing veggies and adding to tomato or v8 juice if they like it,,maybe even frozen veggie juice in tomato juice homemade Popsicles
get a french fry cutter and make potatoes, sweet potatoes, and turnips etc frys and usually kids eat anything with ketchup so serve ketchup with your homemade fries
add fruit to salad (be sure to use dark lettuce like romaine or leafy green or red or spinach and not iceberg head lettuce which has little nutritional value!.!.good fruits to add or raisins, dried cranberries, apples with walnuts, pineapple, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries!. Put some grated veggies in it!.
Dip ‘em!. Kids love dipping things!. They dip their hands (and sometimes feet) into finger paints!. They dunk cookies into milk!. So, next time they want to munch, arrange a snack of baby carrots, celery, or red peppers onto a plate and add a cup of ranch or blue cheese dressing on the side!. Serve broccoli and let them dunk it into cheese sauce!. Even kids who don’t care much for veggies will devour them if they can dip it first!.
my kids liked this bean dip I made (recipe in the sources) with veggies or all kinds for dipping or try a homemade dip of some sort
Hide ‘em!. Sometimes you have to be sneaky to get what you want!. The old saying “Ignorance is Bliss” absolutely applies here! Finely chop a few zucchinis and add them to pasta sauce!. Puree some carrots and add it to macaroni and cheese!. Cook up spaghetti squash and add it to angel hair pasta!.One can adding finely grated veggies to canned soups or spaghettios, pureed zucchini, carrots, etc to casseroles and so forth sneak veggies in sauces like spaghetti sauce, casseroles, lasagna, etc
Shape ‘em!. Cooking can be a creative outlet!. Get your kids involved with preparation, and they may just eat what they’ve helped to prepare!. Use cookie cutter shapes to create “eggplant stars!.” Show them how to make “radish roses” by making thin slices from the top down about ? inch, following the contour of the radish!. Keep going until you have almost the entire radish sliced!. (If you have little ones, YOU can do the shaping, but they’ll love to watch!.) Put in ice water and refrigerate for a few hours to “bloom!.” (This is best done mid-morning, if you’re planning on eating them at dinnertime!.) Encourage them to bring out their inner artist, and they can eat their “projects” when they’re done!
One of the best resources I ever had was this book
How to Convert the Kids from What They Eat to What They Oughta
it is so good I went on a search trying to find it for you!. It contains so many suggestions for healthy eating for kids, a monthly program to improve diet in many different categories using a behavior modification program complete with charts, stars and rewards!. I had some child psychology classes and these type program really work to chance behavior in a happy way, One link has the book as low as one cent plus shipping!.!.I used this a lot when my kids were small in the 80s!.!.they still are eating healthy today!.
http://www!.pricegrabber!.com/search_getpr!.!.!.
http://www!.valorebooks!.com/Search/ISBN/0!.!.!.
http://www!.usedisbetter!.com/catalog_item!.!.!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
First off like others have said you need to set an example for your kids by eating your own vegetables!. The next step is getting them involved in their own food!. Take them to the farmers market, garden, or even just the store with you and let them pick out vegetables they think they want to try out!. Then let them help you prepare it!. Let them do a lot of the preparation work (age appropriate)!. If you get them involved they're more likely to eat vegetables!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Well make them more interesting!.
You can grill a carrot and put it in a sandwich and with fruits you can slice them and dip them in cinnamon and sugar!.
Broccoli raw is a whole lot sweeter and nicer, try the stems first since the flower texture of the head mighten be nice, but all in all it's sweet!.
Sweet potato (yam) mashed with pumpkin is delicious and I don't know anyone who doesn't like that!.
You can make home made juices with different fruits and vegetables with a juicer, you won't be getting the fiber from the juice BUT you will be getting all the vitmains, minerals, antioxidants etc!.
Try carrot, apple, orange, and cucumber for starters, they'll be sure to like that!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
You can grill a carrot and put it in a sandwich and with fruits you can slice them and dip them in cinnamon and sugar!.
Broccoli raw is a whole lot sweeter and nicer, try the stems first since the flower texture of the head mighten be nice, but all in all it's sweet!.
Sweet potato (yam) mashed with pumpkin is delicious and I don't know anyone who doesn't like that!.
You can make home made juices with different fruits and vegetables with a juicer, you won't be getting the fiber from the juice BUT you will be getting all the vitmains, minerals, antioxidants etc!.
Try carrot, apple, orange, and cucumber for starters, they'll be sure to like that!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
This problem has existed for many years for most parents!. Even in the 1950's when food was scarce, kids used to shun their vegetables!. My kids were the same, but we encouraged them without resorting to pressure!. They eventually changed as they got older!.
I reckon if you make homemade vegetable soup, then liquidise it, they will probably enjoy that!.
You can tell kids how healthy vegetables are until you are exhausted, but that won't make them eat them!. They have to learn for themselves!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
I reckon if you make homemade vegetable soup, then liquidise it, they will probably enjoy that!.
You can tell kids how healthy vegetables are until you are exhausted, but that won't make them eat them!. They have to learn for themselves!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Parents tend to give their kids processed and packaged foods these days instead of taking the time to cook and puree fresh ones from the start and then this would not be a problem as the children will acquire a taste for them my kids eat veges from A-Z and always have but my sister bought prepackaged tin baby food for her kids so what we did to get them to eat fresh ones was to cook a mix of veges (potato,sweet potato,cauliflower,broccoli,carrots etc) and then put them all in the blender then wee mixed them with lean mince and made burger patties on a bread roll with sauce!. TAD AH 5 vege and meat meal for kids!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
You have to disguise them!. Slip them in to things they like!. If they like pasta, make your own ravioli with spinach and ricotta and make a tomato and vegetable sauce!. Make vegetarian lasagna!. Think of creative ways to replace existing ingredients with vegetables!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
You can hide in their food or even combine it something such as fried rice!. You can also read the cookbook "The Sneaky Chef" by Missy Chase Lapine whose recipes involve hiding spinach in brownies, avocado in chocolate pudding, and sweet potato in grilled cheese sandwiches, etc!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
get some tasty dips!
Or umm!.for cellery, you could do
ants on a log!
(cellery with peanutbutter and raisins on the top)
hehe i loved those when i was a kid!!!
or maybe make them watch bugs bunny!
That show always made me want carrots! bahaha!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Or umm!.for cellery, you could do
ants on a log!
(cellery with peanutbutter and raisins on the top)
hehe i loved those when i was a kid!!!
or maybe make them watch bugs bunny!
That show always made me want carrots! bahaha!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
1!. Make it look REALLY nice
2!. Tell them what happens if you don't eat vegetables ie!. diseases
3!. BLACKMAIL <- my sister did this =]
4!. Force feed <- my mum did this =]
5!. Don't have anything other than vegetables in your houseWww@FoodAQ@Com
2!. Tell them what happens if you don't eat vegetables ie!. diseases
3!. BLACKMAIL <- my sister did this =]
4!. Force feed <- my mum did this =]
5!. Don't have anything other than vegetables in your houseWww@FoodAQ@Com
Do you eat healthy!?
If so then kids for some reason copy parents!.!.!. show them that it make them very healthy and strong!. and that you eat it also!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
If so then kids for some reason copy parents!.!.!. show them that it make them very healthy and strong!. and that you eat it also!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
don't make it a big issue, if they are having like some meet just put a few veggies on there plates and if they eat give them something they like, like one of those really fancy icecreams :P works well, goodluckWww@FoodAQ@Com
Hide them!.
My wife used to put things like grated carrot in the spaghetti bolognaise and potato and carrot in the hamburger mixture!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
My wife used to put things like grated carrot in the spaghetti bolognaise and potato and carrot in the hamburger mixture!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
disguise it
tell them it will make them big and strong (guys)
tell them it will make them really pretty (Girls)
bribe them
http://www!.authspot!.com/Short-Stories/Ha!.!.!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
tell them it will make them big and strong (guys)
tell them it will make them really pretty (Girls)
bribe them
http://www!.authspot!.com/Short-Stories/Ha!.!.!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Most parents are hypocrites!.
You want your kids to eat veggies!? YOU EAT THEM right in front of them!.
Best way to teah the right thing is demonstration!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
You want your kids to eat veggies!? YOU EAT THEM right in front of them!.
Best way to teah the right thing is demonstration!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
bake them in statue form!? or hide them in proteins!. kids really do like veggies, they just don't like the idea of eating themWww@FoodAQ@Com
raise them as a vegetarianWww@FoodAQ@Com
put cheese on it, make it into a work of art- like a smiley faceWww@FoodAQ@Com